A Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) survey has highlighted that, despite continued growth in the UK economy, employees’ salaries will only go up by an average of two per cent during the next 12 months.
The news is partly because of the expectation among UK employers that they will be able to recruit new employees that have the required skills without having to offer significantly improved salary packages.
Results from the survey have also shown that the number of applications for each job vacancy has continued at a similar level, without any significant increase or fall.
Eight people apply for every highly skilled job vacancy, on average, while 25 people chase every low-skilled vacancy.
Despite the fact that a handful of industries reported issues with a shortage of appropriately skilled workers, most employers are in a strong position.
Gerwyn Davies, a CIPD analyst specialising in the employment market, said: “It seems that armageddon warnings about the UK facing a skills shortage crisis understate the ability of many employers to ease their recruitment problems.
“Many have heeded previous warnings of a tightening jobs market by providing more job opportunities for young people, including through apprenticeships, while up-skilling the existing workforce.
“At the same time, others are using migrant workers to strengthen their defence against a tightening labour market.”
However, an interesting feature of the report was that a growing number of companies, particularly manufacturers, retailers and financial institutions, are struggling to fill at least one vacancy that requires appropriate experience or skills.